Escape from Tarkov creator says he's not abandoning the game after revealing new sci-fi shooter

Nikita Buyanov, the creator behind Escape from Tarkov, has moved to reassure the game's dedicated playerbase after the announcement of a new sci-fi shooter raised concerns about his commitment to the beloved extraction title. According to PC Gamer, Buyanov's message to fans was straightforward: "Tarkov for life."

The new project in question is called Fragmentary Order, a sci-fi shooter that generated immediate speculation about whether it signals a shift in focus away from Tarkov. Those concerns appear to be somewhat misplaced, however, as Fragmentary Order is being developed by a separate company that Buyanov created, rather than by Battlestate Games directly.

Two games, one creator

The distinction matters. Buyanov's involvement with Fragmentary Order is at the company level, not the same hands-on, day-to-day creative role he plays with Tarkov. This separation suggests the new title isn't pulling resources or attention directly from Escape from Tarkov's ongoing development.

Tarkov has had a turbulent few years with its community. The controversial PvE mode rollout and ongoing debates about cheating, monetization, and the game's long-running unfinished status have kept tensions high between Battlestate and its playerbase. The last thing that community needed was the sense that Buyanov was ready to move on to a shinier project.

Why this matters for Tarkov players

Extraction shooters have carved out a serious niche in the live-service landscape, and Tarkov remains the genre's most punishing and most beloved entry. Its community invests enormous time into mastering its systems, and loyalty of that depth tends to come with proportional anxiety about the game's future.

Buyanov stepping into a new venture, even a separate one, naturally triggers those alarm bells. His public reassurance is a smart move, and the structural separation between the two projects gives it at least some credibility beyond being a simple PR statement.

Whether Fragmentary Order turns out to be a compelling game in its own right remains to be seen. For now, Tarkov players can take some comfort knowing their creator hasn't mentally checked out - at least according to Buyanov himself.